the garden

Have a lot of herbs this time of year and not sure what to do with them? Think it's too late to start an herb garden? Here are two of my favorite summer sauces and tips for how to grow their main ingredients right now. Do you have a favorite garden-to-table recipe? Please share in a comment below.

Cilantro & Salsa Verde

Growcilantro in full sun in ground or in a container at least 8” deep. Cilantro does best in cooler weather, so you can start seeds now by a window, transplant when the temperatures cool off for an early fall bounty. You can resow every couple weeks for a longer harvest.

Make Salsa Verde with a surprising twist – apples!I had a favorite restaurant, A Toda Madre, in the Chicago suburbs, that served the best ceviche I’ve ever had (and I’m from SoCal)! The secret was a salsa verde sauce with apples and avocado. I recently made this similar sauce and used it to top pan-fried tilapia tacos. Give it a try and let me know what you think.

Combine apple cubes, zest of whole lime, juice from half the lime, and avocado. Add chile or hot sauce, chives, cilantro and oil. Season with salt and pepper and refrigerate for at least 10 minutes before serving.

Adapted from The Summer Table by Lisa Lemke

Parsley & Chimichurri

Grow parsley in full sun to partial shade in ground or in a container at least 8” deep. Like cilantro, parsley does best in the cooler months of the growing season. Start with plants now and you should have parsley through the fall. Harvest the outer (oldest) leaves first, leaving the center of the plant to continue producing.

Make Chimichurri, a versatile Argentine condiment. It goes well with anything grilled, especially beef and chicken.

Hi I'm Leelee! I'm a botanical artist, educator and owner of Leelee's Garden. I host pop-up plant and flower workshops around the country, do design projects, and just started this mini magazine to share more of what I love! Look around and let me know what you think!